Free The Sheik's Secret Bride by Susan Mallery Page B

far,” she added quickly, “and I promise not to fall and break anything.”
    “You’re on,” he said, turning Alexander so that he faced the path, then giving the horse a light squeeze with his thighs.
    Although he could have easily won the competition, he instead kept pace with Bethany , as much to keep her safe as to make her feel that it was a battle to the finish. As their horses ate up the grassy ground between the trees and the stable, he remembered what it had been like when he’d been Bethany ’s age. They were worlds apart.
    At least Bethany had Liana on her side. Whatever the child’s father might have done wrong, her mother more than made up for it by giving the girl a warm home and unconditional love and support. What more could a daughter ask for?
    “I really don’t have anything to wear,” Liana said, staring at the brief note. Fatima had invited her and Bethany to dine with the royal family, and her limited wardrobe was not up to royal standards.
    “You’ll still be the prettiest one there,” Bethany said loyally. “Besides, Prince Malik is really cool. You’ll like him.”
    Liana glanced at her daughter stretched out on the large bed in the master bedroom. The girl couldn’t put two sentences together without prefacing one of them with the phrase, “Prince Malik says.” No doubt Bethany thought the prince was “cool.” Liana, however, didn’t have the same easy camaraderie with the Crown Prince. In fact, in the past three days, she’d barely seen him.
    And now this. An invitation to have dinner with him and his family. At least she assumed Malik would be there. Liana briefly closed her eyes and prayed he would be. She didn’t want to have to dine with two princes, their wives, a king and a queen mother, all without the presence of the man responsible for her being there in the first place.
    “This is insane,” Liana said, throwing her hands up in the air. “What are we doing here?”
    “You’re looking for a dress,” Bethany said pointing into the closet. “Wear the blue one, Mom. It makes your eyes sparkle and you want to be pretty for Prince Malik .”
    “It’s what I live for,” Liana agreed, as she drew the blue dress out and studied it.
    The garment was silk and shimmery, with a simple boat neck and long sleeves. The soft fabric skimmed over curves and bulges, which was always a good thing. With her hair pulled up in a fancy chignon and her lone pair of good pearl earrings, she just might manage to get through the evening without making a fool of herself.
    Bethany rolled onto her back and studied her fingers. “Can I paint my nails?” she asked.
    It was a familiar question. “Nope.”
    “Can I wear makeup?”
    “No again, pip-squeak.”
    “Oh, Mommy, why not? Can’t I be beautiful, too?”
    Liana replaced the dress and headed for the bathroom to freshen her makeup. On the way she paused by the bed and leaned over to tickle her daughter. “You are already beautiful without all of that. If I let you become even more beautiful, you’d outshine every other woman so much that we’d turn to stone and you’d be left alone.”
    Bethany shrieked with laughter. “Uh-uh,” she managed between giggles. “I’m not that beautiful.”
    “Of course you are. And smart. And funny. In fact, I’m going to have to lock you in a tall tower when you turn sixteen, just so the boys don’t steal you away.”
    Her daughter smiled and held her arms open for a hug. “I won’t leave you, Mommy. Not for a silly boy. Besides, I’m going to college, remember? And I can’t do that in a tower.”
    “I guess not.”
    She pulled her daughter close, savoring the familiar feel of skinny arms holding her tight. These were the moments that she would remember when Bethany was grown and gone, she told herself. The bits of magic that made it all worthwhile. Whatever else she might do with her life, Bethany would always be the very best of her.
    This dinner was her worst nightmare, Liana